Durham, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Rasheed Sulaimon broke out of a scoring slump
with a season-high 21 points, the last three coming on a go-ahead jumper with
18.8 seconds left that lifted No. 23 Duke to a much-needed 69-65 win
over Virginia at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (13-4, 2-2 ACC) squandered a 13-point lead with eight minutes left, but
avoided its first 1-3 start in ACC play since 1995-96 behind late heroics from
Sulaimon and Amile Jefferson, who capped a 10-point, 15-rebound night by
hitting a pair of game-sealing free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining.

Rodney Hood added 14 points for the Blue Devils, who went 10-for-22 from 3-
point range to survive the Cavaliers' late charge and hand Virginia (12-5,
3-1) its first conference loss of the season. Sulaimon hit on 4-of-5 attempts
from beyond the arc.

Malcolm Brogdon scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half to lead the
Cavaliers' rally, with Joe Harris finishing with 15 points and Justin Anderson
netting 12 off the bench.

"To show that kind of heart and to climb back in and have a one-point lead
[late], I told the guys, 'Don't hang your head about that,"' said Virginia `
coach Tony Bennett. "That could have gotten away, and they scrapped and fought
their way back."

The Blue Devils were seemingly in control when Hood's layup with 7:59 to go
staked his team to a 56-43 advantage, but Virginia came storming back over the
final 3 1/2 minutes to put the outcome in doubt.

Anderson dropped in six straight points during an 11-0 run that brought the
Cavaliers all the way back. With Duke clinging to a three-point edge, Brogdon
drove the lane and scored while being fouled by Jabari Parker with 1:25 left,
then sank the subsequent free throw to forge a 63-63 tie.

After Sulaimon made 1-of-2 from the line to put the Blue Devils back in front,
Brogdon was grabbed in the lane by Tyler Thornton and hit both bonus shots,
giving UVA its first lead of the night at 65-64 with 36.5 seconds on the
clock.

Jefferson saved Duke's next possession with an offensive board and got the
ball out to Sulaimon, whose corner three bounced off the rim and went through
to send the Blue Devils ahead again.

"Amile, he played tremendously tonight and he got the biggest rebound of the
night," said Sulaimon. "And when he got it I just tried to make myself
available. I'm just trying to shoot it with confidence and I'd like to thank
God and the basketball gods. They were on our side tonight."

Harris misfired from in close following a wild scrum in the closing seconds,
with Jefferson -- a 41 percent free throw shooter on the season -- grabbing
the rebound and making both from the line to seal the victory.

"I haven't been shooting as well as I want to from the line, but those two
shots weren't my shots -- they were Duke shots," said Jefferson.

Sulaimon scored the first five points of a 13-2 run that enabled Duke to gain
some separation midway through the opening half. Jefferson contributed six
points during the surge, which he capped with a layup for a 25-12 Blue Devils'
lead with 6:21 to go in the period.

Duke furthered the margin soon afterward, with Sulaimon canning another 3-
pointer and burying a transition jumper following a Marshall Plumlee rejection
on the other end to put the Blue Devils up 30-17 four minutes prior to
intermission.

Still down by 13 entering the final two minutes of the half, Virginia seized
some momentum with an 8-3 push that cut Duke's advantage to 36-28 at the
break. Harris then knocked down a trey to begin the second half, pulling the
Cavaliers within five.

Virginia closed the gap to 42-39 on the strength of a 6-0 flurry, but Duke
countered with a 12-2 sequence to go up 54-41 just past the midway mark of the
second half.

Game Notes

Sulaimon's previous season best of 20 points was set in Duke's season-opening
rout of Davidson on Nov. 8. He had averaged just 6.3 points over his last
three games ... Virginia was dealt a 16th straight loss at Cameron since its
last win at Durham, which came on Jan. 14, 1995 ... Blue Devils guard Andre
Dawkins made his 200th career 3-pointer early in the contest, becoming the
13th player in school history to reach the mark ... Duke, coming off
Saturday's 72-59 defeat at Clemson, improved to 23-1 in games following a loss
since 2009-10.